Mr. Speaker, before I begin my remarks, let me offer my congratulations to you on your appointment as Deputy Speaker. It is a well-deserved honour. I know that you will work well with all members of this chamber. Again, I congratulate you. A couple of years ago when you were first appointed as Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, I thought your mom would be very proud of you, and I bet she is even prouder of you now.
Since this is the first opportunity I have had to stand and speak in the chamber since the election, I would like to start off, as many members have done, by thanking a few people who helped me get here today.
First, I would like to thank all the constituents of Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre for re-electing me to this place. I was first elected, as you know, Mr. Speaker, because we arrived here at the same time, in 2004. We were re-elected in 2006 and once again most recently on October 14 this year.
All members agree with me when I say that to be elected as a member of Parliament is not only an honour, but it is also a very humbling experience. I know there is a great deal of trust that constituents put in members when they send them to Ottawa, and we can only hope we do the job and repay that trust to the best of our ability. I can honestly state that I have always tried to do so and I will continue to do so in this latest opportunity.
I also want to thank all of my campaign team and the volunteers who worked so very hard to get me elected. We had hundreds of volunteers. As all members of Parliament know, we cannot get elected without the help of a great many people. Those people on my campaign team and all the volunteers deserve a great deal of credit.
Most important, I want to thank my wife, Diane. In a previous life before I was a member of Parliament, I worked in the political arena, but I actually worked on behalf of a political party. One of my jobs was to interview prospective candidates.